Hello dear family and friends. I just got back to Wellington
on the 18th after having an absolutely amazing two weeks in the
south island. As is often the case it is pretty strange being back in the “real
world” surrounded by people all doing their part to keep a city moving and
alive. Reading through my first chunk of emails had me literally feeling dizzy.
Like I was recalibrating to a world with non-verbal interaction. I feel as
though I am walking through a zoo of people who don’t even realize they are
caged and are voluntarily staying within its confines. But returning also feels
good. I know this city so well that it is definitely comfortable coming back
and it is nice to view things through the shifted perspective that time in the
wilderness always gives me. That being said it definitely does not feel as real
as where I have been. I feel I have learned far more in these last two weeks
than I have all semester here so far. And the learning has taken place on a
felt level deeper than the intellectual. Because of that I don’t think I can
verbalize it and frankly I don’t really want to try. But I would be happy to
update you all on what I did during my two weeks. I will break this up into
multiple posts based on different Tramps I did.
Arrival in Queenstown April 4 – 5th
Justin, David and I landed in Queenstown on a beautiful
sunny afternoon and threw on our bags and headed up into Ben Lomond to camp for
the night. We found a perfect little ledge a few hundred meters off the trail
just wide enough for our tent. We made a little dinner and settled in for the
night. As we sat and enjoyed our food a shape appeared on the ridgeline in the
dying light. A fox? We all watched as it sniffed in our direction and then
disappeared over the ridgeline only 5 meters or so above us. We got up and
shined our flashlights to see 3 or 4 of the most adorable little animals along
the ridgeline and in the surrounding trees. They looked like small lemurs. We
later found out that these are the New Zealand possum. Below is a photo of one
(I did not take this I just found in online Photo 1)
We woke up the next morning and headed into town to see if
we could get to a trail head that day but unfortunately all the busses had left
already so we planned one for first the next morning. We spend the rest of
Easter Sunday walking around Queenstown. We skipped rocks in the lake and sat
and admired the uniqueness of this small town. It had a quaint vibe but at the
same time there was every manner of extreme sport happening all around us.
There were Para gliders floating down from the ridgeline, parasailers being
pulled in front of us, there was a person a bit way out in the lake riding a
water jetpack, there were kayakers, a few people drove jet ski like machines
that looked like sharks and were watertight flying through the water, others
rode speed boats as they spun and whipped through the water, there was a steam
boat tour and behind us seemingly endless busses leaving with bungee jumpers
and skydivers. The backdrop for all of this was the most beautiful mountain
view (Photos 2 and 4) complete with low cloud bands contouring along the mountains (Photos 3 and 4). The lake muted the sound off everything creating a dreamlike aura and maintaining the quaint feeling. It was very surreal.
We spend the rest of the day exploring and then spent the night at an amazing little backpackers called butterfli.
The next morning we got up early and were on a bus by 8 to the Greenstone Caples trailhead.
Photo 1 - Two New Zealand Possums
Photo 2 - View From Queenstown
Photo 3 - View From Queenstown Cloud Bands
Photo 4 - View From Queenstown Panorama
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